Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541535
Winter 2026 – LOCAL695.COM 17 The next year, thanks to Paul Sandweiss, who mixed the Telethon for thirty years, I was invited back and worked on all the rest, including Jerry's last, in 2010. Memories of these shows are still fresh. We were on the air for twenty- one hours … that's about seven Grammys. Sometimes it was chaos. Bands showed up late, surprise guests showed up early, you gotta love live television. We even found time to help fill the boot. Iconic comedians entertained us, like Don Rickles, Norm Crosby, Shecky Greene, Henny Youngman, and Red Buttons, who never got a dinner. The terrific orchestra provided constant musical highlights, especially accompanying singers like the wonderful Jack Jones, who often arrived in his motorhome and stayed the weekend. Sunday morning, before the show, was reserved for Jerry's music rehearsal. It was joyful. He loved singing with this talented group and loved even more making them laugh. Sal Lozano, Rick Baptist, and Gene Cipriano (Yo, Cip!) were frequent participants in the fun. Each year, Jerry would point to players calling out musical notes, resulting in chords that would make Varèse proud. The twenty-some years that I spent Labor Day weekend in the company of Jerry and the wonderful staff and crew are some of the most treasured of my time in television. The Telethon week always had one dark day built into the schedule. Depending on the weather (was it hot or damn hot?), the crew would take advantage of that day by going to the pool at the hotel, visiting Lake Mead, or in one particular case, hiking on Mount Charleston. I used United frequent flyer miles to rent a shiny red Cadillac El Dorado for the day. At the appointed time, three of us headed up the mountain, Joe Kendall riding shotgun, Murray Siegel, A2 Emeritus, in the back. Jeffrey Fecteau and Bart Chiate met us at the trailhead, and we hiked up, enjoying the cooler weather and beautiful views until it was almost time for lunch. At that point, we hiked back down to The Lodge at Mount Charleston, our dining destination. Paul Sandweiss, who enjoyed a busy morning mixing the orchestra pre-records, met us there. As we sat and ordered lunch, it was apparent that our table had become a point of interest for the staff. Finally, someone came over and asked if that was Kenny G? No, we assured them, in spite of the physical resemblance, this was Murray, not Kenny. We enjoyed our lunch, settled the tab, and as we headed out the door, we heard a cacophony from our table. Joe had left a note, drawn on a placemat, thanking the staff for their wonderful food and service, complete with a drawing of a saxophone and signed, Kenny G. As the staff gathered at the doorway to look, they had a good view of Joe and me driving away in the brand-new Cadillac with "Kenny" in the back seat. That was a good day. It was my honor to take part in that unforgettable show for so many years; I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to Packy, Paul, and so many others who made those Labor Day weekends a special part of my career. It always seemed like we would go to the Telethon in the summer, but when we came back, football season had started, and kids were in school. It was fall. FILM & TELEVISION INDUSTRY SOUND EQUIPMENT SERVICE & REPAIR 8 1 8 - 875 - 52 9 5 i n fo @ a n a l o g wave s . n e t a n a l o g wave s . n e t Va n N u ys , C A SERVICING ALL BRANDS Paul challenges other departments to "fill the boot." Poster by Craig Rovello